Kotaku has an article about DOOM 4 development being "off track," reporting "multiple sources" say the shooter sequel is not close to complete after five years of development that included a reboot, and describing rising tensions between developer id Software and parent Zenimax. The reboot occurred in late 2011, and is the one part of the story that has an on-the-record comment, as Pete Hines of Bethesda Softworks (also a Zenimax company) confirmed this for them. "An earlier version of Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that Id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect," Hines said in a statement for the site. "As a result, Id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we’re ready to talk about the Doom 4 Id is making, we will let folks know." The article offers dire, though unconfirmed anecdotes from their sources, describing attempts at a more cinematic game derided as "Call of Doom," power struggles merging the RAGE team into the project, and organizational issues leading to an exodus of talent from the developer. Word is the game is not very close to complete, and is now planned for the next generation of consoles, and that Zenimax is putting a lot of pressure on id, with the threat of closure or becoming an engine developer if DOOM 4 fails to meet expectations, which are apparently quite lofty, as apparently id was told by Zenimax executives that the game could and should be as big as Skyrim.

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with the threat of closure or becoming an engine developer if DOOM 4 fails to meet expectations, which are apparently quite lofty, as apparently id was told by Zenimax executives that the game could and should be as big as Skyrim.

Hahahahaha. Yeah, good luck with that.

Poor poor id. Not satisfied with the millions upon millions of copies of Doom 3 they sold, they ran to the consoles in search of more money, sniffed their noses at their PC fans in the process, and now suddenly they have to create games that sell 10+ million copies to be considered a success.

In short: Bye id. But hey, at least Carmack will have his rockets!

Edit: Didn't realize this was from Kotaku, so there's a YuuuHUUUUGE "IF this is true" attached to my statement.